OUR VIEW: Republicans had better hope things don't get any messier than they already are in their gubernatorial primary, or Democrats could benefit

Tim James' inherited stubborn gene notwithstanding, it makes perfect sense for him to seek a recount of the Republican gubernatorial primary.

Unofficial vote totals from June 1 showed James 208 votes behind Robert Bentley for the second spot in a GOP runoff set for July 13. After Republicans counted the valid votes of 1,790 provisional ballots, the margin between Bentley and James shrank to just 167 votes. That would put Bentley in the runoff against Bradley Byrne, the front runner on June 1.

That is, unless the recount James called for on Tuesday changes things.

There is valid reason for a recount in a race separated by just 167 votes. The margin is so thin that finding any human or computer error resulting in misreported numbers could legitimately swing the vote James' way.

Remember, in the 2002 gubernatorial election, a computer glitch in Baldwin County overreported Don Siegelman's total there by more than 6,300 votes. When those votes were subtracted, Bob Riley went from having lost the state by about 3,000 votes to winning it by about 3,000.

That controversial election, incidentally, led to the Legislature passing a recount law. While that law doesn't apply to party primaries, it sets an automatic recount threshold at 0.5 percent of the total votes cast in a statewide election. That's far larger than the 0.034 percent margin separating Bentley and James.

James said he will ask to recount ballots in 40 of the state's 67 counties -- those where 95 percent of the Republican votes were cast June 1. Then, he will decide whether to go statewide.

Let's do a little math. On June 1, voters cast 492,897 valid ballots in the Republican primary. Five percent of them is almost 25,000 votes. Those votes mustn't be ignored, unless James recounts in 40 counties and makes up little or no ground. At that point, he should concede.

But if James recounts in only 40 counties and comes out ahead, he must recount all 67 counties and 492,897 votes.

It's hard to believe any recount that puts Bentley behind would go unchallenged. He would seek a second recount, and who knows what that would show? Could a court challenge be far behind?

In other words, things could get much messier than they already are. And the messier they get for Republicans, the more Democrats stand to gain in November.

Republicans say they are mindful of the 1986 Democratic debacle. That year, party bosses picked Bill Baxley as the Democratic nominee for governor after Republican crossover voting in the runoff propelled Charles Graddick to victory over Baxley, who had held a commanding lead in the primary. Voters revolted, and in November elected Guy Hunt as the state's first Republican governor in more than a century.

"Our goal is that when the vote is finally certified, everyone will be confident that the candidates in the runoff were chosen by the voters, and not the party," state GOP chairman Mike Hubbard said.

Right now, about the only thing anyone should be confident of is that things are a mess, and could get much messier.

CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR? How close is the margin between Robert Bentley and Tim James for second place in the Republican gubernatorial runoff? So close that if just one vote shifted in James' favor in one of every 16 precincts (there are 2,843), James would take the lead. The totals, including provisional ballots: